Fang Fang chuckled dismissively, "A slip of the tongue, a slip of the tongue. We still need to find someone to lend us money for the calligraphy competition. But what about this poetry gathering, how do we manage that?"
Nian Zhenzhen felt a surge of irritation. If Fang Fang hadn't offended Qi Qinghe and Chen Jie so severely, she wouldn't have had a single opportunity to borrow money. But she absolutely had to attend the poetry gathering! Young Master Huang had mentioned he was from Qingzhou. And the other person's identity was clearly not simple; in a place like a poetry gathering, that person was highly likely to be present!
...
The Nian Residence.
Clear, melodious guqin music echoed throughout the courtyard. As the last note faded, Tong Ziyao gently stilled her hands on the strings.
Nian Jiaojiao applauded enthusiastically, "Bravo! Such skilled hands!"
Before she started learning the guqin, hearing beautiful melodies didn't evoke much, at most just the appreciation of pleasant sounds. But now, after beginning her studies, she understood the difficulty of reaching such a level. It was just... her hands were nothing compared to others.
Hearing Nian Jiaojiao's praise and feeling her gaze upon her, Tong Ziyao smoothly lowered her slender, distinctively jointed hands. "Shall we begin our lesson now?" Tong Ziyao asked.
"Alright," Nian Jiaojiao nodded in agreement, then turned to Yu Chuan beside her, "Chuan'er, you haven't attended a single lesson before, so we'll start from the very beginning."
In truth, while Nian Jiaojiao's playing was poor, her posture and technique were impeccable. Seeing Nian Jiaojiao's suggestion, Tong Ziyao immediately understood the implication and nodded, agreeing to teach from the basics.
At this moment, each of the three had a guqin placed before them. Tong Ziyao's guqin was the one she always carried with her. Nian Jiaojiao's guqin was a more casual practice instrument provided by the academy, which she had brought back for practice. As for Yu Chuan's guqin, it was bought just today. Since Yu Chuan was also starting to learn, Nian Jiaojiao had taken Yu Chuan and Tong Ziyao out to choose a guqin.
Tong Ziyao, being knowledgeable, offered many suggestions for selecting the instrument, ultimately choosing this Zitan Jiaowei guqin, valued at a thousand taels of silver. At the time, the virtuous husband Yu Chuan was naturally unwilling to buy such a fine instrument, but Nian Jiaojiao insisted that she sometimes wanted to play a good guqin, as a better sound fostered a desire to practice. Thus, this reason successfully persuaded Yu Chuan, and now this Zitan Jiaowei guqin lay before Yu Chuan, in a beautiful posture, ready to be "picked."
"First, let's introduce the instrument, the 'guqin'," Tong Ziyao's clear, resonant voice soothed the listeners. "Observe the guqin before us. It has seven strings and thirteen bridge positions..."
A quarter of an hour later, after finishing the theoretical part, Tong Ziyao began her demonstration. "As we discussed, the middle finger is used for plucking. Let's try plucking the first string with our fingers. When playing, pay attention to relaxing your body, with the force concentrated at your fingertips..."
With that, Tong Ziyao plucked the string.
"Zheng—"
Although it was a single note, there was no extraneous sound. Nian Jiaojiao and Yu Chuan exchanged a glance, then lowered their heads to begin.
"Zheng—"
"Weng—"
Two vastly different sounds, forming a stark contrast, arose in the courtyard.
Nian Jiaojiao: ... She felt a little weary.
Tong Ziyao's gentle voice sounded again, "Jiaojiao, don't rush. Try to control your strength a bit more and play with relaxation."
Nian Jiaojiao glanced at Tong Ziyao, seeing that her expression was natural and devoid of mockery. She nodded at her, took a deep breath, and looked at the guqin in her hands as if facing a formidable enemy.
I pluck!
"Weng—"
I pluck again! Pluck!
"Weng, weng—"
Pluck, pluck, pluck!
"Weng, weng, weng—"
Nian Jiaojiao: ...
Yu Chuan: ...
Tong Ziyao: ...